steps
by halcyons
Summary: "Her ease and grace always seemed to render him still as the world around him continued forward." Chitanda, Oreki, and all the little moments that matter.


Oreki finds it difficult to enumerate the number of occasions in which he is in Chitanda's presence. He's also lost count the number of times in which she beckons him to alleviate her dying curiosities. It would be only natural, of course, that the friendship developed over the course of time had made him more comfortable (yet increasingly conscious) over their simple interactions.

These moments gave away to Oreki's vulnerability, as he found that snippets of his thoughts would often etch themselves into their casual conversations. The incident that had happened just last week had kept him up for several nights, expending way more energy than necessary.

He thinks back to the words that slid over Chitanda's lips. Her ease and grace always seemed to render him still as the world around him continued forward. In this sense, he likened himself to a time traveler who was merely 'stuck in the moment.' There was the audible thud of a toothbrush drop when the thought first formed.

_Since when did I start thinking about these types of things? _he murmurs to himself and cautiously ponders over whether the contents of his Monday morning breakfast were threatening to spill over.

He sits on his bed for a breathing moment to recollect and refresh.

It was on a hazy and warm after-school Friday.

"Oreki-san," was how it always began. It always began with her and that nearly exasperating gleam in the eyes to remind Oreki that _oh on, here it comes again, wait for i-._

"I'm curious!" Both eyes shine brighter than Polaris and it's a bit _too_ blinding for the likes of him. He sighs and puts his book down. After all, she's not someone he can just ignore.

"Yes, Chitanda-san." his voice drones lazily but politely complies to her request.

"Why is that you are always so..." she studies him quietly with the occasional head tilt as she trails off. "Ahh, never mind, I am sorry to bother you. Please continue what you were doing before!" She waves her hands apologetically and returns to her seat, no doubt still lingering with energy.

Now this struck Oreki as nothing but_ odd_ written all over it. He doesn't recall that there was ever an instance where Chitanda seemed to...hesitate? It was certainly hesitating wasn't it? Well, he did notice that her eyes darted to the side sometimes and that her lips were shyly pursed as she spoke.

He looks over to where she currently sits. She's quietly reading a book with no change in facial expression and the same light air that surrounds her everyday character ever present.

Oreki spends the next ten minutes suffering in still silence. At first it comes to him like a mosquito, the occasional swat with one hand when it gets near you but an overall peace of mind settled when it flies away. Trivial and easily ignored.

As time passes, it becomes something more difficult to neglect, like a fruit fly or moth. It constantly flies around and pesters until he feels the urge to grab instant-kill bug spray.

"Chitanda." he snaps his book and calls her out.

"Yes, Oreki-san?" she meets his gaze and smiles politely.

"Before...What did you want to say?" he begins to wonder if this is how Chitanda felt whenever she asked him a question. The gnawing ache and thirst for knowledge that could only be satisfied by each other's acquaintance. To rely or be relied on.

"Oh, Oreki-san, it was nothing. I just wanted to see how you would react if I asked you a question like that." She admits sheepishly and covers her mouth to hide her giggling.

Ah, so he was caught up in her trap after all.

This sets his conscious off in an odd way.

"Why though?" he's finds himself beginning to mirror Chitanda.

"It's just that Oreki-san, I never see you become interested in things easily."

Her experiment proved him deathly wrong.

"And I don't know much about you that well yet so, it was a nice to see that side of you."

These words made the clockwork in his body turn. It seemed that just a couple phrases from her was enough to turn him upside down into a parallel universe unknown even to him.

"That's not true Chitanda-san." he murmurs and laments on the persona that only manifests in her presence. He finds it hard to retain who he truly is.

"Eh, sorry?" she looks at him awaiting.

"I answer your questions because I am also curious." He didn't include the other part that was also a part of his thoughts _yes, I know I like to conserve my energy but when it comes to you I_

He stops himself because he doesn't know how to finish the statement. He also becomes afraid of his answer and what it would entail. For now, he puts it away and keeps it hidden from a surface that's easily subjected to prying eyes. This is a case he would have to take upon himself.

Someday, he knows that it will be solved and of course, she'll be the first to hear his answer.


End file.
